Ok, I see ya Stone. I see your brashness, I see your aggression, I see your abrasion. But now you've chosen a term that resonates greatly with the South, with the Bourbon constituents, with a mindset of succulence, richness and refinement. Stone, your tipping your toe in... Let's see what you got...

Southern Charred opens with lackluster charm. Murky as a muddle rain puddle, its brown, gold and amber is nothing appealing... until it releases a sandy-bright blanket of foam. Like meringue, it concretes its top with a long lasting cap and with broken lace as the beer slowly recedes.

But on sniff and it's all over... the aromas meld into the soul with absolute succulent power. Everything from sweet maple, to boubon-soaked oak, to butterscotch, to cherry wood, to vanilla and cream- everything that's imagined about butter pecan manifests themselves into this ale form.

And that's how the taste opens. Its sultry, savory and succulent tone seduces the taste buds with absolute ease as the sugars, buttery richness and creamy sweetness massages away any worry. But as the beer traverses over the middle, it pulls in other complexities: first an oaken wave of charred oak; then high bitter stemmy bitterness; and later bourbon-soaked fruit. Finishing with de-e-e-eply resinous bittering and playful acidity- the ale is dry tasting with hops, whisky and wood spice.

Its full body is largely due to its high residual sweetness that saturates and caresses the palate in seductive fashion. As their grip slowly releases, an abrassive grate comes and scrubs the palate far sooner than what is preferred. Its late charge of bitterness and malty-dryness extends well into the next savory sip.

Like the love-hate relationship you have with an ex-girlfriend. She's sweet and irresistible early but bitter and gnarly late. But once you're over her- you go back in for another taste. She's the blessing and the curse all in one.

Bottle: Poured a murky dirty brown color ale with a medium size foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma of wood and rye whiskey is pretty dominant with some light hoppy relics notes. Taste is also dominated by rye whiskey notes with quite a bit of woody notes with some residuals sugar notes and light fading hoppy notes. Body is full with good carbonation with some well-balanced warming notes. One of the best nightcap beers I’ve tasted in the recent months.

admittedly i was never the hugest arrogant bastard fan, but so many of its reincarnations have been splendid. maybe none more so than southern charred. this brew pours a medium copper color, maybe a touch darker, with less than a half inch of khaki head. it has a nose of burnt amber malt, toffee and buttery sweetness, strong vanilla and oak elements, but its not bourbon forward as i expected. its also not as charred as i expected, given its name and barrel treatments. i get some carbon charcoal mellowness type of vibes, but its not actually a ton of flavor. the hops of the bastard have mellowed considerably, although this still has enough bitterness to counterbalance all the sweet. strong boozy notes come out, even more intensely when it warms up. a slow sipper to say the least, but a very layered brew full of sweet malt, earthy wood, and sturdy booze. full bodied and not overly carbonated, this feels about like it should for a strong ale. i know these were expensive, but a beer worth trying without question.